This invention relates generally to pallets for supporting materials, and more particularly to an expandable protector assembly which is arranged to be readily disposed about the periphery of a pallet of various sizes or an array of plural of pallets to protect the pallet(s) and persons coming into contact with the pallet(s).
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,294 (Depew) there is disclosed a pallet construction making use of protective members fabricated out of metal, plastic or other impact resistant material for engaging two opposed end portions of the pallet to protect against damage. The protective members are in the form of upper and lower elongated bars and associated cap portions. The protective members are arranged to be secured in place to the pallet, via nails or screws, with the bars extending flush with the top and bottom surfaces of the upper and lower deck-boards, and with the cap portions embracing the end portions of the stringers or other deck-board supporting components. The cap portions are secured to the embraced portions beneath the deck-boards. Flanges may be provided on the cap portions at the end of the protective members for direct securement to the upper surface of the deck-boards and to the under surface of the underlying portion of the pallet. With pallets of block type construction, side protective members may be included to be nailed, screwed or otherwise secured to sides of the pallet, whereupon the periphery of the pallet is protected.
While the pallet protective members of the Depew patent may be generally suitable for their intended purposes of protecting the pallet from damage by a fork-lift apparatus used to lift and transport the pallet, they still leave much to be desired from various standpoints, e.g., inability to cover the entire periphery of the pallet, complexity of construction, inability to be readily removed from the pallet.
Other pallet protectors have been disclosed in the patent literature. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,292,899 (Steffen) discloses a protective element for a pallet in the form of a plate, preferably formed of sheet metal for a fixation to deleting stringer of the pallet. The plate-like element is preferably nailed to the pallet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,175 (Whatley, II) also discloses a protective plate for use with a pallet. The plates may include perforations or holes to receive fasteners such as nails for fixing the plate to the pallet. The plates are disclosed as being fabricated from sheet metal.
U.S. Pat. 5,673,629 (Ginnow) discloses an end cap construction for protecting the ends of the stringers of a pallet. Each of the end cap construction units is a generally U-shaped member having plural apertures therein.
In my U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,807, there is disclosed and claimed a pallet protector assembly which overcomes many of the disadvantages of the prior art. That pallet protector assembly is arranged for use with a conventional pallet, e.g., a wooden pallet having a plurality of stringers disposed generally parallel to one another between upper and lower decks formed of plural spaced-apart deck-boards. The pallet has a pair of sides and a pair of ends. The pallet protector assembly comprising plural, e.g., four, elongated bar-like, hollow plastic, guard members, each which has an opposed pair of end portions. Each end portion of each guard member includes a respective connector. Both of the connectors of two of the guard member are bulbous key-like projections. Both of the connectors of the other two of the guard members are mating key slot shaped recess. The bulbous key-like projections of the two guard members are arranged to be releasably received within respective recesses of the other two guard member to releasably secure the guard members to one another to form a self-supporting frame encircling the periphery of the pallet. The connectors forming the guard members are resistant to accidental disconnection from each other so that the protector assembly when in place is resistant to accidental disconnection. However, any guard member can be readily purposely removed from the others to provide access to any portion of the pallet, e.g., access to an end portion to enable the pallet to be lifted by the tines of a conventional fork-lift machine.
In my co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/519,300, filed on Mar. 6, 2000, entitled Protector for an Array of Pallets there is disclosed and claimed a pallet protector assembly for use with an array of pallets, e.g., at least two conventional pallets arranged in an array closely adjacent each other. Each of the pallets has a plurality of stringers disposed generally parallel to one another underneath an upper deck. The deck is formed of plural spaced-apart deck-boards. Each of the pallets also has a pair of sides and a pair of ends. The pallet protector assembly comprising at least six elongated bar-like guard members, each of which has a first end portion and a second end portion. The first end portion includes a first connector. The second end portion includes a second connector. The first connector of any one of the guard members is arranged to be releasably secured to the second connector of any other of the guard members. All of the guard members are arranged to be secured to each other to form a self-supporting frame for encircling the periphery of the array of pallets, with the guard members being resistant to accidental disconnection from each other.
While my aforementioned patent and co-pending patent application overcome many of the drawbacks of the prior art pallet protecting devices, they never the less still leave something to be desired from the standpoint of being able to be customized for size to a particular pallet or array of pallets.
Safe Strap Company, Inc. of Somersworth, N.H. has available an adjustable pallet guard assembly for use with a conventional pallet or group of pallets. This assembly consists o f plural plastic extendable side members which are arranged to be connected to each other at their respective ends to encircle a pallet. Each side member is made up of two sections, an inner section, and an outer section, which nest together and are slidable with respect to each other along their longitudinal axis so that the length of the side member can be adjusted. Each section of each side member consists of a vertical wall having a top edge from which a narrow horizontal top wall (i.e., a flange) projects and a bottom edge from which a narrow horizontal bottom wall (i.e., a flange) projects. The cross-sectional shape of each section is thus of a generally C-shape. The vertical wall forms the outer peripheral surface for the assembly when the side members are connected to each other encircling the pallet. The free or marginal edges of the upper and lower walls engage the periphery of the pallet so that there is a space between the periphery of the pallet and the inner surface of the vertical wall. In order to hold the two sections together in their nested but extendable configuration, one of the sections of each side member includes a narrow strap bridging the free marginal edge of the top and bottom walls at one end of the section to form a slot into which one end of the other (inner nested) section extends. This slot serves to guide and hold the two sections axially aligned so that they can be extended with respect to each other without substantial skewing. Since each of the side members is completely open from the inside, each is somewhat susceptible to twisting, bending and other deformation. Moreover, the open construction of the side members of the assembly provides a lesser measure of protection to the pallet from impact. Thus, while the Safe Strap, Inc. pallet guard assembly may provide some adjustability of the pallet guard members for accommodating various size pallets, it does so at the expense of ruggedness, strength, and impact resistance. Moreover, the guard members of the Safe Strap, Inc. assembly are somewhat complex in construction and are somewhat difficult to assemble and disassemble.
Accordingly a need exists for a pallet protector assembly which is simple in construction, adjustable, easy to assemble and disassembly, resistant to impact and deformation, while being suitable for use with only a single pallet of various sizes or an array of pallets.
This invention relates to an adjustable pallet protector assembly for use with at least one pallet, e.g., a single pallet or an array of plural pallets. The pallet(s) with which the subject invention may be used can be conventional, e.g, a rectangular or square shaped assembly having a pair of sides and a pair of ends, with plurality of stringers disposed generally parallel to one another underneath an upper deck, with the deck being formed of plural spaced-apart deck-boards.
The pallet protector assembly of this invention basically comprises at least four elongated guard members. Each of the guard members is composed of a first hollow section and a second hollow section, with the first section having a first end portion and the second section having a second end portion. The first and second sections are telescopically slidably coupled together, whereupon the length of each guard member can be adjusted. The first end portion of the first section and the second end portion of the second section of each guard member are exposed when the sections making up that guard member are coupled together. The first end portion of the first section includes a first connector, e.g., a male member. The second end portion of the second section includes a second connector, e.g., a female member. The connectors of all of the guard members are releasably securable to one another, e.g., the male and female members mate, to form a self-supporting frame for encircling the periphery of the pallet(s). Once so connected the guard members are resistant to accidental disconnection from one another.
In accordance with one preferred embodiment of the invention each of the guard members is formed of a light-weight, impact resistant material, such as polyethylene, polyolefin cellulose composite, or other plastics.